The present invention concerns semiconductor imaging devices and, in particular, such devices having anti-blooming features.
A semiconductor imaging device typically includes an array of pixel cells for capturing an image. Each pixel cell includes a photo-sensor which collects photoelectrons generated during an exposure time when the electronic imager is capturing an image. During the exposure time, the photo-sensor accumulates electric charge, (i.e. electron-hole pairs) in response to impinging photons.
In one example, an electronic imager may include an array of complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) pixel cells. CMOS pixel cells typically consist of a photo-diode for photocurrent generation, a reset transistor for resetting accumulated charge produced by the photo-diode and a readout circuit composed of one or more of transistors for translating the accumulated electric charge into a readout voltage. It is known that photocurrent generation efficiency of an electronic imager increases when the photo-diode exposure area of the pixel cell is increased. Therefore, it is desired for the readout circuitry and other non-photocurrent generating hardware to consume as little area as possible in the pixel cell. One solution is an imager wherein multiple pixel cells share readout circuitry.
Electronic imagers may also use charged coupled device (CCD) pixel cells. The CCD architecture typically consists of a photoactive region for photocurrent generation, and a serial readout shift register for reading the pixel cell values.
One drawback to a typical pixel cell architecture is blooming. Blooming is a deteriorating effect on the captured image that occurs when a photo-diode or photoactive region in a pixel cell is saturated and excess electric charge spills into adjacent photo-diodes or photoactive regions, thus corrupting their ability to correctly capture an image. Blooming is typically prevented by an anti-blooming (AB) circuit that allows the excess electric charge to flow to a reference potential away from the adjacent photo-diodes.
Anti-blooming circuitry for CCD arrays may include a lateral overflow drain (LOD) built into the pixel cell. AB is performed by the LOD wherein excess charge is attracted to a potential applied to the LOD rather than spilling into adjacent pixel cells. For APS pixels, the floating diffusion may function in a manner similar to the LOD. In these devices, the floating diffusion is held at a reference potential during the integration period so that excess charge from the photodiode spills into the floating diffusion rather than into adjacent pixels.
Another common problem in electronic imagers is dark current. Dark current results in extraneous charge being collected by the pixel cells even when the imager is not exposed to light and, thus, erroneous pixel values being generated. One source of dark current is leakage in the charge collection region of a photodiode, which is strongly dependent on the doping implantation conditions. Dark current may also be caused by current generated from trap sites inside or near the photodiode depletion region; band-to-band tunneling induced carrier generation as a result of high fields in the depletion region; and junction leakage coming from the lateral sidewall of the photodiode. For both of these devices, an anti-blooming barrier having a potential close to that of a saturated photosensor (e.g. a CCD photogate or APS photodiode) allows excess charge to spill into the LOD or into the floating diffusion before it spills into neighboring pixels.